STATE TO ASK MCCORMICK COST REFUNDS

John McCarron, Urban affairs writerCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Illinois Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan will file a lawsuit Thursday against the governing board of McCormick Place and all the firms working on the convention center`s half-built expansion hall, demanding that millions of dollars spent ''wrongfully'' on the project be repaid to the state treasury, sources close to Hartigan said.

Hartigan, a candidate for governor in next year`s Democratic primary, will ask in the suit that McCormick officials and their contractors be summoned into court to account for their performance on the project, which was to cost $252 million but has had a $60 million overrun.

Hartigan`s entry into the fray comes less than a week before the Illinois General Assembly is to gather in a special session to act on the McCormick board`s bailout request. Lawmakers are expected to approve bond funds next Wednesday in Springfield but only after all 12 McCormick board members resign.

The lawsuit will no doubt be interpreted by Hartigan`s political opponents as a last-minute effort to grab some of the publicity surrounding the project`s troubles.

Expressions of reformist outrage have poured forth all summer from members of special state House and Senate committees investigating the cost overruns. Ironically, many of the lawyers, consultants and contractors on the project have close ties to the governor or to legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle.

Nevertheless, Hartigan`s gubernatorial ambitions could be served if his lawsuit turns up new evidence damaging to Gov. James Thompson, whose appointees effectively dominate the McCormick board.

One Hartigan political operative conceded Wednesday that the suit may make for good publicity, but he insisted that the attorney general has a legal responsibility to take action on behalf of Illinois taxpayers. What`s more, the operative said, the long list of politically connected contractors includes many firms that are, like Hartigan himself, aligned with Chicago`s regular Democrats.

''Wait until you see which law firms file appearances for which companies,'' the aide said.

Prospects for a smooth legislative compromise on the bailout were further dimmed last week when the McCormick board forced the resignation of Joseph Hannon as general manager of the convention center. That move infuriated Senate President Philip Rock (D., Oak Park), a Hannon supporter, who is now said to be taking a hard line against any effort by the governor to retain control of the reconstituted board.

Regarding the lawsuit, the legal brief that Hartigan plans to deliver to the Chancery Division of Cook County Circuit Court claims that there is

''reason to believe millions of dollars in public funds have been and are being mismanaged and unlawfully paid by the (McCormick Place) authority.''

The court will be asked to summon everyone involved, determine fault and make any guilty parties ''disgorge those unlawfully obtained gains and make restitution to the public treasury.''

Specifically, Hartigan`s lawsuit will charge that:

-- Numerous construction and consulting contracts were awarded in violation of state laws that require competitive bidding and prohibit conflicts of interest between officials and contractors.

-- Several contractors subverted the bidding process by low-balling their initial bids to win the work, only to raise their fee through ''change orders'' that were routinely approved by the board.

-- The board failed to properly supervise the project, especially when they allowed work to proceed before city inspectors issued permits--a practice that led to costly last-minute design changes.

-- The board is failing to collect monetary damages owed by contractors who caused delays on the project, an amount recently estimated by the state auditor general at $9 million or more.

-- The board held several meetings in violation of the state Open Meetings Act, an apparent reference to ''informal'' meetings between the board`s expansion committee and its hired construction executives.

Hartigan was set to announce the lawsuit at a Thursday morning press conference. He will argue, sources said, that only a court has sufficient power to exact the full story of what went wrong at McCormick Place.

Earlier this week a McCormick board member, Thea Flaum, complained to a Senate committee that the three separate government probes into the overruns had become ''a media free-for-all'' in which politicians were seeking the

''limelight'' at the expense of a well-meaning and unpaid citizen board that only sought to improve Chicago`s standing as America`s convention capital.